LEANDER GAMES
to real money players.” Many of Megadeth’s fans have
already contacted Leander with positive feedback on the initial arts that were published (although one online fan comment did offer… “I’m
statement for our press release: “We have an amazing fan base that is incredibly
loyal to our music and everything we stand for, and we never dreamed that one day we would have a ‘MEGADETH’ slot game for fans to play. With the assistance of Leander Games’ vision and creativity, we have produced a fantastic game that will appeal to anyone that already appreciates the band while also giving us an opportunity to continue widening our appeal to a new casino-playing audience.” Megadeth will also be actively working with us
to promote the game to their fan base, and will even provide some exclusive memorabilia for some lucky players.”
CRASH SYMBOLS The game concept was built from scratch to fully
feature the band, and a handful of Megadeth fans within Leander’s staff were immediately made a part of the project to ensure the fans’ point of view was being considered. The band members and their instruments are the main reel symbols (Dave Mustaine appears as the “Extended Wild” on the main game and the “Sticky Wild” on the free spin bonus) while some of their greatest hits are present musically, including Head Crusher, Symphony of
not sure how I’d feel putting my money into a land- based slot game called Symphony of Destruction!”)
END GAME
With the game’s release only weeks away, I ask Atucha for his favourite of the game’s features. “I would probably go with the “Meta Screen Side Bet”,” he offers. “At all times the player will be able to turn on three levels of side bet through which the game will check all the possible winning combinations, not only within the symbols he sees, but up to one, two or even three positions off-screen. The game is a five- reel by four-row, 40-lines slot game. But with the “Meta Screen Side Bet” activated, if a better combination appears outside of the screen the player will still win!”
This project also appears to have whet Leander’s
Destruction, and Hangar 18. Further to this, the “Head Crusher” bonus is based entirely on the band’s famous “Head Crusher” video (if you’re feeling brave you can find it on YouTube; just be sure to plug in headphones if you’re in a shared office!) “We put a great deal of effort into producing a
really creative game,” explains Atucha. “Megadeth will be our first branded product and we want to deliver an impressive experience.” And does he think Megadeth fans will take to slot gaming? “Absolutely! The band has a strong fan base ranging in age from 20 to 45 – an age that’s very comfortable with computers and surfing the internet. Those fans that are not gamblers will certainly want to try the game for fun, and we believe that once some of the exclusive memorabilia becomes available to our clients’ slot players, even the fun players will convert
appetite for band-related games, as Atucha explains: “We expect to become specialized in building the best slots for the best bands. We are already in conversations with a few important bands that will hopefully join the Leander experience.” Leander holds the exclusive worldwide license for the Megadeth game, for both online and land-based. Through its existing partnerships with GTS and OpenBet they are securing strong distribution to the main online operators as well as holding initial conversations with potential partners regarding land- based distribution.
Considering that in the band’s 26 active years
there have been over 20 individuals that have all officially been part of the group at different times, I can’t resist asking Atucha if Leander are prepared to constantly upgrade the game if the band line-up chops and changes. “Megadeth has had a few changes… usually around Dave Mustaine’s charisma and leadership. All of them have played an important role in the band and are held in high esteem by the fans. If the current line-up happened to change (hopefully not!) the game will remain a strong image of this stage of the band’s life.”
JULY-AUGUST 2011 53
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